“My son saved China – you, too, can save! Buy one dumpling, get one free!”

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Kung Fu Panda 2 is the other sequel that came out on May 26 (along with The Hangover Part II). The main difference between the two is that Kung Fu Panda 2 acts like a proper sequel – it builds from the previous movie and presents a new challenge while getting deeper into the development of the characters. Through the conflict, Po (Jack Black) ends up learning about his past and his real family.

The panda returns!

While the story is a bit cliche (defeat the enemy who is jeopardizing lives and kung fu), the action makes up plenty for it. Considering it is an animated movie based around kung fu, you can’t expect anything less. Po and the Furious Five bust out some interesting and new moves.

The gang's all here

The film does have a touchy side to it when Po’s past is shown of how he came to be Mr. Ping’s (James Hong) son. When Po as a baby panda was shown, a wave of “awww” traveled across the theater. Along with James Hong, plenty of other famous actors took part in the making of Kung Fu Panda 2, including returning voice actors, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, and Seth Rogen, along with new additions such as Gary Oldman, who voices Shen, the evil Peacock. Gary Oldman surprises me considering all the various roles he has taken, like Sirius Black from the Harry Potter series and Jim Gordon from the recent Batman trilogy. He reminds me a bit of one of my favorite actors, Hugo Weaving, who has had unique roles in The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Transformer series as well as his performance as V. Apparently he is The Red Skull in the new Captain America movie and is returning as Elrond in the new Hobbits movies.

Awww

Hugo Weaving aside, Kung Fu Panda 2 is as good as it gets when it comes to a family, action movie. The ending of the film, however, is very similar to the whole idea of Shaolin Soccer, but I guess that comes with the kung fu territory. Even though the movie has an obvious plot, it is still a good watch, especially for children and families. My only concern for this series now is that DreamWorks will commit and overkill and release three more sequels later on (like how they did for Shrek).

7.8

Quoted by MWP

Sawazz – I thought the action and comedy were great, above average, but the ending feels like such a rip-off of Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer! – 7.6

Rio is an interesting case for me because I didn’t have a drive to see it, but I was greatly impressed by it overall. At first, it may seem like your typical family-oriented animation, but it can still be entertaining for other audiences as well. Even though the whole story is highly predictable, I would still give the film a passing grade (it is better than Hop and the later Shreks).

The voice actors match with their characters pretty well. I was highly surprised by Anne Hathaway’s performance of Jewel, the love interest in the story, due to her singing. It seems as though Hathaway is trying to get back into the spotlight, considering her big role as Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman movie is appearing soon. George Lopez is included obviously just because his voice matches with the atmosphere and location of the film. And Jesse Eisenberg brings his loser quality into his character as he always does.

They are both such geeks

During the first 15 mins, I thought Rio was going to follow a similar pattern as Rango – a pet animal getting separated from its owner and being forced to live in the wild. However, Rio has a much different style, considering it is rated only G. It is surprising how adequately entertaining a G movie can be. Of course, however, none of the characters die in the film, unlike Rango. I felt I was robbed the satisfaction of watching some antagonists be killed for their evil deeds.

Blu Hawk

I am not the only one who is giving Rio a good rating. Reviews everywhere are giving Rio at least a 7 out of 10. And Rio shows some results with making over 370 million worldwide with only a 90 million budget (and the DVD/Blu-ray hasn’t even come out yet). Even though Rio has some cliche jokes and camera angles, it is bright, colorful, and flashy, which allows it to take full advantage of being an animated feature. While the film may not satisfy most adult viewers with its perfect ending, no loose-ties epilogue, kids will definitely enjoy this one.

This animated feature film did very well back in 2008, making over 630 million worldwide. It’s no wonder a sequel will be released later this year. What made this move so successful? For starters, it has a collection of well known actors involved.

The voices of the characters match pretty well

The cast includes Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, and Ian McShane. Each voice actor matches his/her character fairly well. It even seems like most of the characters were designed to resemble their respective voice actors (the similarity between Jack Black and Po the panda is striking). Dustin Hoffman connects very well with his character, Shifu, mainly because just like Shifi, Hoffman is a master – a master at acting. Therefore, his character commands a similar amount of respect.

The dragon scroll

Unlike other films from DreamWorks, Kung Fu Panda lacks in pop songs and celebrity references, which are common in media for children in order to draw in adult audiences (such as Katy Perry in Sesame Street). Even though the movie is considered to be for children, it still can entertain adult audiences as well with its engaging characters and unique idea. In fact, the inclusion of such outside references of songs and celebrities would have only hindered the movie as a spoof instead of an original comedy.

FOOD!

On December 2010, DreamWorks Animation announced that there will be a total of SIX films in the Kung Fu Panda series. Are they fucking serious? That’s more than Shrek (even considering the sequel starring Puss in Boots). Of course, this is DreamWorks that we are talking about, so it is only natural for successful franchises to be dragged out a lot longer than they should be. Hopefully this franchise won’t go past the third installment.

A duck making food? What does the tiger eat?

Enjoy the movie before DreamWorks overdoses in panda fever.

8.1

Quoted by MWP

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